


Complicated Doesn’t Begin to Cover It

by shanachie



Category: 9-1-1 (TV), DC's Legends of Tomorrow (TV)
Genre: Crossover
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-21
Updated: 2020-06-21
Packaged: 2021-03-04 09:53:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,293
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24847846
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shanachie/pseuds/shanachie
Summary: Eddie Diaz (9-1-1) walks into a bar and meets Mick Rory (Flash/Legends of Tomorrow).
Comments: 8
Kudos: 11
Collections: A Ficathon Goes Into A Bar





	Complicated Doesn’t Begin to Cover It

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to dragonydreams for looking this over for me. And to Matt for checking Eddie’s characterization. And finally kitkat0723 for listening to me ramble as I re-read and double checked this.

Eddie Diaz kept his head down as he entered the bar. The dark lighting and solid furniture were more in line with the bars he remembered near the posts he was stationed at before shipping overseas than anything the 118 frequented. Still, it was what he needed today; a way to be anonymous in a crowd or at least somewhere not bright and cheerful. He realized as he looked around that there was no crowd here, just a few hard drinkers. Here no one would know who he was or what he did… and maybe he could find some peace.

He made his way over to the bar, holding up a finger when the bartender noticed him. “Shot of tequila and a beer. Whatever you have in a bottle,” he ordered, taking a seat on an empty stool. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and set it on the bar in front of his spot.

The bartender slid a shot glass and bottle of beer across the bartop to Eddie and Eddie passed a folded bill back. Taking a sip of the beer, he considered the shot in front of him. After a minute, he threw it back, the burn igniting all the way down.

Someone moved around him, Eddie tensing a little at the movement at his back. Beside him was a broad man who seemed to be involved more in his whiskey than the other people. Eddie’s eyes flicked up towards the television to see what game was on, but froze when he saw the fire on the screen.

“Hey,” he called to the bartender. “Can you turn it up?” He motioned to the television. The bartender shrugged but reached up for a remote and a minute later the sound of the announcer came through clearly.

 _”The 118 arrived on the scene about twenty minutes ago…”_ Eddie tuned the announcer out as he scanned the background, looking for a specific person.

“You know them?” a voice rumbled beside him.

Eddie’s eyes were glued to screen as he answered, “It’s my house. My… best friend is…” He spied the turnouts labeled with the familiar name _Buckley_. “My best friend is on shift.”

“Hard when you aren’t there for them,” the man commented.

“I was supposed to be on shift, but I needed the time,” Eddie responded. Buck had disappeared from the screen so he turned to look at the other man. “Eddie.”

The man considered him for a minute. “Mick,” he offered.

Eddie signaled the bartender, who ambled over. “Gimme another shot of tequila and get him whatever he’s been drinking.” With a nod, the bartender moved to fill his request as Eddie turned his attention back to the television. 

Eddie was still watching the screen thirty minutes later, even though it had switched to another program. He’d also consumed a third shot of tequila, but vowed to stay away from them after that. The man next to him, Mick, had downed another three whiskeys; not that Eddie was counting.

Mick glanced over as Eddie’s phone rang. The screen lit up with a picture of a blond man laughing, a little boy looking up at him with a wide grin. “You gonna answer that?” he asked when Eddie continued to look at the phone.

“No.” Eddie shut off the ringer, causing the screen to go dark. “Not now.”

“Your friend has a kid? Makes it complicated?” Mick questioned. Normally he wouldn’t be this interested in someone else, but the man had bought him a couple drinks.

“Not his kid,” Eddie answered. “The kid’s mine. But they adore each other.”

“Kids make it complicated,” Mick observed.

“You speak from experience?”

Mick dug a wallet out and rifled through it, pulling out a picture. “My daughter. I didn’t even know about her until recently.”

Eddie looked at the picture, surprised to see a teenager. He wouldn’t have thought that man sitting next to him would have a child that old. “Nice looking kid,” he said.

Mick considered the picture after he took it back. “She’s a good kid. We’re doing better.”

“Yeah?” Eddie tapped his phone, lighting it up. “I know how that is. It’s been rough since his mother died. But… Buck…” he nodded towards the television, although the news was no longer showing. “Buck is a godsend. And my kid loves him.”

“You said. So why’d you ignore the call?”

“It’s complicated,” Eddie said. “We work together. Practically live in each other’s pockets twenty-four hours at a time. And then he’ll watch Ch… my son sometimes. Or we’ll be at each other’s places.”

“So you’re partners?” Mick questioned.

“No, but yes,” Eddie replied. “Like I said, it’s complicated.”

Mick tipped the beer bottle he’d acquired (and how out of it was Eddie that he hadn’t noticed _that_?!) at Eddie before tilting it back and taking a drink. “I used to have one of those. We were… probably beyond complicated. I knew him…” The sound that emitted from Mick almost sounded like a sigh. “Longer than I knew anyone else. And then he did something stupid.”

“He get married? Sleep with someone?” Eddie asked.

“What?” Mick looked at him in confusion. “No.” He held his bottle up, asking for another and pointing at Eddie. “He got his ass killed. And I had to tell his little sister.”

“ _Actually_ dead? Because Buck has almost died so many times,” Eddie said.

“Actually dead,” Mick confirmed. “Blew himself to bits. Had Blondie drag me away first. After he knocked me out.” He eyed the dark-haired man. “How do you _almost_ die?”

Eddie held his fingers up as he ticked off the moments. “Had a fire truck fall on him after it blew up. Pulmonary embolism in response to the accident. Got caught in a tsunami with my son and got cut while looking for him… while he was on blood thinners. _Finally_ got back to work and cut his arm on a windshield… again, blood thinners.”

“Who did he piss off?” Mick rumbled. “Never mind.” He accepted one of the bottles the bartender passed over, shoving one towards Eddie. “So you just let him go to work? Sounds like he needs bubble wrap.”

“He needs a keeper,” Eddie agreed. “And normally I am…”

“But it’s complicated.”

“Yeah.” Eddie blew out a breath. “Which is part of the reason I’m here instead of there.”

“Look.” Mick consulted his beer bottle as if it had the answers. “I probably ain’t the one who should be giving advice. But tell him. Whatever it is. At least get it out in the open.” He finished his beer and spun around as the door opened. Both of them had been sitting so the door was to their right, easy to see each time it swung open.

A lithe blonde stood in the doorway. Normally Eddie would be concerned about such a good-looking woman entering a bar as rough seeming as this, but something about this woman said she could take care of herself. And her leather jacket, tight jeans, and boots fit right in with the clientele. She was clearly looking for someone as her eyes scanned the bar. Eddie hadn’t seen that level of alertness on anyone since Afghanistan.

“Blondie,” Mick called, drawing her attention to him.

She nodded at the call, crossing the bar to settle at Mick’s side. “We’re ready to go,” she said. “You coming?”

“Yup.” Mick pushed off the stool. “Bye, Eddie.”

“Bye,” Eddie echoed. As the two disappeared out the door, he turned back to the bar. Finishing his beer, he scooped up his phone. Considering it for a minute, he thumbed through and dialed Buck as he left the bar. “Hey,” he said when the other man picked up, “can you talk?”


End file.
